Burning Flower
by HowCouldThisHappenToMe
Summary: Life is short, Ace thought as he was struck by the magma fist belonging to Akainu. It was like a flash of lightning, really. You're born, and then you die when it seems like you're at your brightest.


**Well, I've done another one of those 50-prompt things, but this time it's sort of a companion piece to "Wilted Flowers". This uses the childhood character, Lily, that I'd created for the other story. These mostly focus on the friendship between her and Ace, but Luffy is included every once in a while. I'd written "Wilted Flowers" before Sabo had been fully revealed (only mentioned by Ace as 'the Sabo Incident'), so I wanted to have something that related to him as well in a few of these. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or its characters. They belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

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**1. Comfort**

Ace could still remember the first time Lily had crawled into bed with him. She'd spent the night in the tree-house with him and Luffy, on the night of a storm. Every time the thunder boomed in the air, Lily would curl into a ball and press herself closer to Ace's mat. It continued until he finally gave up and threw part of his blanket over her, just so she would stop whimpering.

**2. Kiss**

Lily had stolen his first kiss the day after her twelfth birthday. It was an accident, okay! She tripped and Ace just happened to be there. But he didn't _like_ it—so he says—because Lily was like his sister, and brothers didn't kiss their sisters on purpose!

**3. Soft**

Most people in town were afraid of Ace because of his bad disposition and habit of getting into fights, but Lily knew he was just a big softie for his family.

**4. Pain**

Ace was always angry whenever Lily was hurt. Watching the way her eyes would squint shut and a grimace would cross her lips just made his blood boil. She wasn't healthy, and she was his little sister. Brothers take care of their sisters. That's why he always beat up anyone who tried to hurt Lily.

**5. Potatoes**

"I don't like potatoes," Luffy muttered.

"You've never had them before," Ace protested.

"I know I don't like them!"

"If you try it, I'll give you extra meat," Lily said, tempting her 'little brother'. Ace rolled his eyes—that wouldn't work—only to have them widen when Luffy actually agreed to the deal. Perhaps there was something to be said for compromises.

**6. Rain**

"Lily, get out of the rain! You're gonna get sick!" Ace yelled over the downpour. As much as she'd been frightened of thunder, Lily loved the rain.

"But it's fun!" she answered with a wide grin on her face. Well, just a few minutes, Ace reasoned. That wouldn't be too bad, right?

**7. Chocolate**

"Ace, what're these for?"

"They're for you." A faint, awkward blush.

"But, why?"

"You said you liked chocolate."

"So you got it for me for my birthday?"

A nod.

She hugs him. "Thank you, Nii-chan."

**8. Happiness**

It was always easy to see when Lily was happy, Ace figured on the first anniversary of her death. She always wore her widest smile around him and Luffy, and that was when she was happiest.

**9. Telephone**

"What's that thing?" Lily asked, gingerly poking the odd little snail Ace had taken from 'Dadan Land'.

"It's a Baby Den Den Mushi. It lets people talk to each other as long as they're on the same island."

"So this way we can talk whenever we want!"

**10. Ears**

"That's fake," Lily accused when she saw the little gold hoop on Ace's left ear.

"Is not!" he retorted.

"Yes it is! Your ears aren't pierced!" She tugged on the hoop and it slid off of the shell of Ace's ear without leaving a mark. "See!"

**11. Name**

Lily had never liked to be called 'kid' or 'girl', as Ace had learned early on in their friendship. She believed she'd been given an identity and she would insist on using it until her dying breath.

**12. Sensual**

Ace could remember everything about Lily, down to the last, minute detail. She always looked like she'd been outside for hours, with dirt smeared on her cheeks, skinned knees and messy blond hair. She sounded like a contradiction, her voice relatively weak, but her tone strong. Her skin was soft and she felt kinda boney because she was so thin. She smelled like the fruits that grew on the island because she always eating them. And her hands tasted like those fruit, as Ace had learned when she'd covered his mouth and he licked her palm to gross her out so she'd let go.

**13. Death**

Lily's death had hit Ace and Luffy really hard. It had been so sudden, as it had seemed to Luffy. Ace knew otherwise, though. He'd always known about Lily's heart, that she'd been born with some kind of defect with it and that made her weak. To Ace, every day could have been his last with his 'sister', and the day of her death drove that home in the most final way possible.

**14. Sex**

Ace had always told Luffy to go easy on Lily when sparring because she was a girl. He said that she was weaker because she was a different sex. It wasn't until after the girl's death that he revealed Lily's heart problems to his brother.

**15. Touch**

"Don't touch it!" Lily whined with tears in her eyes.

"Quit being such a baby. It's just a black eye. I beat up that bastard for you."

"But it _hurts_!"

**16. Weakness**

While it was true that Lily was physically weakest of the group, Ace was decidedly emotionally weakest. He had no control over his emotions when he was young, as was proven time and again whenever his brother or sister were harmed.

**17. Tears**

Ace's and Luffy's overflowed the day Lily died. Oddly enough, there was not a single tear that fell from Lily's eyes.

**18. Speed**

"Hurry up, Luffy!" Lily yelled over her shoulder as they ran from their latest 'dine and dash' trip.

"No fair, Nee-chan! Ace is carrying you!"

**19. Wind**

Lily's hair was never very long—only reaching just past her shoulders—but Ace thought it was kinda pretty (say anything and he'll kill you!), especially when the wind was blowing it all around her head.

**20. Freedom**

"I'm leaving when I turn seventeen, and becoming a pirate," Ace told Lily one day.

"Why?"

"Because pirates are free and they don't have to follow anyone's rules but their own or their captain's."

Lily smiled. "Then I want to be on your crew, Nii-chan."

**21. Life**

After the deaths of Sabo and Lily in their childhood years, Ace and Luffy understood how fragile life could be. That was why they wanted to live theirs to the fullest, and do their fallen siblings proud.

**22. Jealousy**

"I'm kinda jealous of you, Ace," Lily murmured one evening as she lay on the floor of the tree-house, after Luffy had fallen asleep.

"What for?"

"Because you're strong, and smart."

"But I'm the son of a demon."

"Who cares what other people think of you just because of who your father was? You're not a demon. You're my Nii-chan, and you're more human than the people who call you a demon."

**23. Hands**

Lily took Ace and Luffy's hands in hers as the three of them walked into town together. As of that day, they were siblings. They'd shared sake, just like Luffy and Ace had done with Sabo.

**24. Taste**

"Luffy, what is this?" Ace asked as he poked the 'food' his younger brother had found.

"I used to eat this all the time when Gramps left me in the woods for weeks," Luffy answered with a grin, though he hadn't given Ace the information he wanted.

"I'll eat it if you do," Lily challenged the older brother.

"You're on!" He devoured the odd little piece of meat, only to run away and throw it back up.

"If you throw up, it doesn't count! I'm not eating it!"

**25. Devotion**

In his time with the Whitebeard Pirates, Ace realized that while he was very loyal to Oyaji and his crew, he would always be devoted to his family. Luffy was the only remaining sibling he had after Lily and Sabo's deaths. He'd be damned if anything happened to the little blockhead. It was for that reason he took Akainu's magma fist at Marineford.

**26. Forever**

"We're gonna be best friends forever, right?" Lily asked the afternoon before her thirteenth birthday.

"Of course we are," Ace answered. "What kind of stupid question is that?"

Two days later, Lily was dead and Ace was left to wonder if the girl had felt her death coming. He tried to reason that she couldn't have, as she couldn't have possibly predicted the fight that would lead to her heart failing. As he tied purple twine on the tree branch above Lily's grave on the first anniversary of her death, Ace knew that 'forever' went beyond the miniscule lifetime.

**27. Blood**

"Ace!" Lily screamed and ran to her older brother's side as he fell back, his head hitting the ground with a sickening _crack_. Blood was dripping from his forehead from the beer bottle that'd been broken over his head as he pushed himself back up with a scowl.

"Get back, Lily. These guys are going to learn not to make you cry!"

**28. Sickness**

Lily had been born with a heart defect, as she'd told Ace upon meeting him. She could never remember the name of the defect, but Ace never really cared to know what it was called. All that really mattered to him was making sure Lily stayed alive for as long as he did. That was the goal he set for himself when he was only eleven years old.

**29. Melody**

"Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo," Lily sang as she walked with Ace along the dirt path leading from the village.

"Where'd you learn that song?" Ace asked.

"I heard Luffy singing it the other day. He said he learned it from Red Hair Shanks."

"I like it."

**30. Star**

To Lily, Ace and Luffy were both shining stars. They each brightened her life in ways she could never imagine or even hope to find.

**31. Home**

"What's all that stuff for, Nee-chan?" Luffy asked. Lily stood just inside the tree-house with a blanket and a pillow.

"So that I don't have to bring stuff whenever I come spend the night here," she answered with a smile. "This is my second home, and I like this one better than my regular home."

**32. Confusion**

"Ace?"

She shook his shoulder. No response.

"Ace is dead!"

The older boy's head shot up and he wore a sleepy expression on his face.

"Who's dead?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

**33. Lightning**

Life is short, Ace thought as he was struck by the magma fist belonging to Akainu. It was like a flash of lightning, really. You're born, and then you die when it seems like you're at your brightest. That's how it was with Sabo. With Lily…

**34. Thunder**

A tiny squeak came from Lily and bounced off the walls of the cave that she, Ace and Luffy had taken refuge in. Ace looked over at the girl and saw her wide eyes and trembling body. Luffy's head cocked to the side curiously.

"Nee-chan, are you afraid of thunder?" he asked.

"It's not that-" Another burst of thunder and she screamed, clutching Ace's arm with a grip he didn't think she could possess. The older boy sighed softly and used his free arm to wrap around his little sister. Normally, he'd tell her to stop acting like a baby, but thunder was something that made him jump sometimes too. But he didn't scream or cry. He was tougher than that.

**35. Bond**

The friendship between Luffy, Lily and Ace was strong, stronger even than death. That was what the two boys believed after Lily passed away, when the wind would pick up as they talked to her grave. They liked to believe she used the wind to communicate feelings of approval or disapproval to them.

**36. Market**

Ace could still remember the day he went into town with Lily, planning on getting spices that had been brought in by sailing merchants.

"Maybe we'll find some Dragon's Flush," Lily said with a grin.

"What's that?" Ace asked, cocking an eyebrow in her direction.

"It's some really spicy stuff that comes from the Grand Line. I bet it'd burn _your_ mouth."

"Yeah, right! Nothing burns me, not even fire!

**37. Will**

Lily had first learned of Ace's ability to use _haki_ when he knocked out some boys that were about to attack the girl. He hadn't even touched them and they all fell to the ground! Lily supposed she should have been frightened of this power her older brother possessed, but she only admired him more for it.

**38. Gift**

"What's this?" Ace asked when Lily presented him with a poorly-wrapped, circular object.

"It's for your birthday, Nii-chan. I made it for you," the girl answered with her usual smile. Ace pulled the brown paper—likely from an old paper bag—off the package and found a necklace made of large, bright red beads sitting in his hands.

"You made this?"

"Yep! Do you like it?" Ace put the necklace on over his head and tried to get adjusted to the feeling of something hanging from his neck.

"It's cool."

**39. Smile**

Lily loved Ace's smile. It was big and bright, just like Luffy's, but he only gave it when he was really happy. It was the smile he gave whenever he saw Lily.

**40. Innocence**

"Ace!" Lily whined as she covered her ears. "I don't wanna hear that!"

"What are you talking about? And quit being such a crybaby."

"Girls aren't supposed to talk about that stuff!"

**41. Completion**

The completion of something was the end. That was what Lily believed, so she always told Ace and Luffy that nothing was ever truly finished; there was always something more to be done. That was part of the reason the boys believed Lily was always with them, even after her death. She wasn't really gone, because she wasn't done being their friend and sister.

**42. Cloud**

Lily's eyes scrunched together.

"Ace, do you see it, because I don't?" she asked.

"It's right _there_," Luffy insisted, pointing up to the sky.

"Don't be stupid, Luffy," Ace scoffed. "That doesn't look like a piece of meat."

**43. Sky**

Every time Ace looked to the sky, he could almost swear he could feel Lily smiling down on him. Whenever he was asked by the other members of the Whitebeard Pirates, he would simply reply with a grin and leave them to continue wondering.

**44. Heaven**

"I'm not afraid to die," Lily told him one day when she was twelve.

"Because you're not dying anytime soon," Ace insisted.

"Maybe, but we never know. I just know that when I _do_ die, I'll go to a place a lot like this. I'll get to meet your brother, Sabo. And, if I die before you, then I'll see you there when it's eventually time for you to come too."

**45. Hell**

As Ace sat in his cell in Impel Down, he realized he was in Hell on Earth. He was no longer afraid to die, had almost come to accept it by this point in his quickly-waning life. He thought back to what Lily had said to him all those years ago, and he knew he would be going someplace better. He'd leave Hell and make his ascent into his own personal Heaven, where Sabo and Lily likely were.

**46. Sun**

Lily saw Ace as the sun in many ways. He shone brightly, proving his strength more times than she could count, and he used all of his strength to take care of her and make sure she stayed alive for as long as possible.

**47. Moon**

If Ace was the sun, then Lily was the moon. Where he was brazen, she was demure. Where he stood out, she held back. He was loud, she was quiet. He was physically strong, she was emotionally strong. They were opposites, but they held each other together. For three years, it was as though one could not exist without the other. Sun and Moon. Yin and Yang.

**48. Waves**

"Lily, what do you think you're doing?" Ace demanded as he watched the physically weak girl enter the ocean with their younger brother.

"Luffy wanted to go into the water, but he can't swim because of his Devil Fruit. So I'm taking him," Lily answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're not a good swimmer either! And what about the sea monster?"

"Sea monster?"

"GET OUT OF THE WATER!"

**49. Hair**

"What did you _do_?" Ace screeched when he awoke from another of his narcolepsy-induced naps. Lily giggled mischievously.

"I just cut your hair a little," she answered.

"_Lily!_" He began chasing after her and she ran as fast as her fragile body would allow. That was revenge for falling asleep while she was talking to him, she thought.

**50. Supernova**

A supernova shines brightly, and goes out in a flash. It was what happened with Lily when she was 13, and what happened to Ace when he was 20.

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**I hope you enjoyed these. Please R&R.**


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